"If You See Something, Say Something"

By Jolyn Johnston-Myers

September 19, 2016

McPherson’s Chief of Police Rob McClarty had a message for the McPherson community in light of the recent events over the weekend in New York City, in addition to the events that have involved law enforcement over the last several months across the nation.

“I think we’re in different and changing times throughout our nation,” Chief McClarty said. “And I think that evil is stepping up its pace. We’ve seen it with officers ambushed; we’ve seen officers shot multiple times; we’ve seen explosive devices set off and injuring numerous people.

“I think the best thing I can say is be vigilant,” he continued. “Be aware of what’s going on around you, and if you see something, say something. That means, call law enforcement, call 911, let us know what’s going on.”

Both Chief McClarty and McPherson’s Fire Chief Jeff Deal went on to clarify that they do not consider it an inconvenience for someone to call in with a concern, no matter how small it may seem.

“We would much rather make a response to a device, a person, an individual, anything suspicious whatsoever, and have it be absolutely nothing. It is not a problem.

Chief McClarty continued, “We would much rather deal with that than have you say nothing, and have it be something that injures somebody or someone right here at home.

“That even includes if you just hear something about a specific person or about something that’s being planned, let us know, pure and simple.”

Separate bomb incidents over the weekend in New York and New Jersey resulted in 29 people injured from one of the explosions while other bombs were either successfully disarmed or contained and detonated by law enforcement after being discovered by local citizens in public trash cans and abandoned backpacks.

The FBI continues to search for more bombs in the area and for at least one suspect in the ongoing investigation.